Urban Pioneer
• Aug. 19, 2006 - Cleaning TIps
I was reading a forum yesterday and a
lady was asking for some speed cleaning tips. Now I am a
recovering messie, so this has been a long journey for me. But I
thank God and my husband for the help I have had in this area.
One important thing for me was my attitude. I hated to do
housework, so I did as little as possible for as long as
possible! Here are some things I have learned in my journey!
1)
Pray. Ask God to show you what needs to be done (sometimes I just
wouldnt see things, then I would pray and all of a sudden think, "Wow
that ceiling fan really needs to be cleaned" and to inspire you to find
ways to organize and streamline your house. I wasnt sure what to
do with my laundry/back entry room area. My hubby had taken out
my huge folding table to use for eating. I prayed and
remembered the empty low dress that was up in the attic. Brought
it down, gave each child a drawer for their winter stuff. The
surface gave me enough room to fold or place baskets as needed.
It looks great!
2) DECLUTTER - next to prayer this was my biggest help. I followed Flylady's advice. "If you dont use it or love it, get rid of it" Freecycle.com is a great place for getting rid of stuff to people who truly want it or need it! Find a localy yahoo group and sign up!
3)
Concentrate on one room at a time. I am easily distracted and
would go from room to room seeing this or that and doing it.
Stick with the task at hand. Make a list of things that need to
be done in that room! Start in the middle, get the big stuff,
then move to the edges
4)
Create Routines. Have a morning routine, afternoon routine, and
evening routine. Gradually add them into your "schedule"
See flylady.net for routine ideas.
5)
Train your children to help around the house. I have four
children ages 3-8. They help tidy the main rooms, clean the
kitchen (all I have to do is the pots & Pans and Mop), make their
beds. Keep their rooms clean. They also help to tidy and
Clean the bathrooms. Here is what we did this summer to teach
them to keep their rooms clean:
I
went through all their clothes (people are constantly giving us clothes
and it can get overwhelming) and narrowed it down to about 10 outfits
for summer and 10 outfits for winter, with a couple of
sweaters/jackets. I then gave the rest to charity. I went
through their toys and let them keep only a couple. The rest were
sent up to the attic. Once they got into the habit of keeping
their room clean with those few toys, we brought down more. We
made a place for everything and everything had to be kept in its
place. We also went through and got rid of some
broken/unplayed with toys. Their room has looked so much
better since we started doing this.
6) Do at least one load of
laundry a day (two if you have an extra large family). from start
to finish: Wash, Dry, Fold & Put Away.
7)
Assign a different room for each day of the week or a room(s) a week
(for a months...for example: 1st week (could be a partial week
whenever the first of the month is....entry ways/porch, 2nd week
= kitchen, 3rd week = master bedroom (children work on their rooms),
4th week = bathrooms and one other room) 5th week (may only be a
partial week) = Dining room/Living Room.
These are things I have found to work for me. I hope they bless you too!
Oh, for some speed cleaning tips, here is a great link:
Speed Cleaning
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• Aug. 20, 2006 - pray